ICRC help aids conflict victims in South Sudan

The International Committee of the Red Cross has provided surgical care to more than 9,000 wounded patients in South Sudan since its birth 10 years ago, underscoring the scale of the violence in the world's newest country, the organization said.

The people in the country have been battered by the ravages of conflict and armed violence for most part of the last 10 years, and last year, women and children comprised nearly a quarter of the patients treated by the organization, ICRC said.

People injured by weapons often require complex and long-term treatment that goes beyond immediate surgical care. "These patients need physical rehabilitation to restore mobility. They, like many other victims of conflict and violence, also need mental health support. But the sad truth is that the majority of South Sudanese don't have access even to the most essential health services, let alone specialized care," said Ana Lucia Bueno, who supervises health programs for the ICRC in South Sudan.

In addition to a fragile healthcare system further weakened or destroyed by the violence, some other factors, including a lack of food and displacements, have also fueled the crisis in the country, the organization said, adding the situation is exacerbated by attacks against medical personnel and facilities.

To help families rebuild livelihoods, over the past decade, the ICRC together with the South Sudan Red Cross distributed food to more than 3.3 million people, vaccinated more than 5.2 million heads of livestock and distributed seeds and agricultural tools to more than 3 million people.

It also provided 130,000 phone calls to people separated from their families, registered over 6,000 missing people and helped clarify the whereabouts of almost 3,000 missing, it said.

"Climatic shocks and COVID-19 make it harder for communities that have lived through enormous suffering to restore their dignity and provide for themselves," said Julien Lerisson, the head of the ICRC delegation in South Sudan.

"The steps toward peace need to solidify into long term stability and security for families devastated by conflict and armed violence to be able to shape their own future."